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Today we're covering the final eight Gods to make it onto our Best Gods list. While there are definitely some Gods that I could have easily included, such as Tiamat, since I included Tiamat in the Best Dragons series it felt redundant to also include her here.
Out of the 75 total Gods, today we'll be looking at eight more and, as usual, these are going to be a combination of cards that are fan favorites, iconic staples, and competitive all-stars, so nothing is really off-limits.
Let's begin!
Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
Ojer Taq is one of the few gods on the list that I've actually never cast before, but it's like a $30 card! Thanks to Commander, no doubt. Just like Aclazotz, Ojer Taq transforms into a land when it dies that can be transformed back, which is neat, but that doesn't really hold a candle to creating three times the number of tokens whenever you create one or more tokens. That's such an insane upgrade from something like Anointed Procession. I guess that's what you get for six mana, as opposed to the usual four or five. That, and a 6/6 creature, I mean.
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Purphoros is another beefy boy that has seen play in nearly every format, most notably in Devotion decks in Standard, but also in wacky combo decks with cards like Norin the Wary, where you would find ways to loop Norin leaving and entering the battlefield over and over to kill the opponent with Purphoros' two damage trigger. Purphoros has been all over, and he undoubtedly sees a ton of Commander play, as evidenced by his $30 price tag.
Reidane, God of the Worthy
Just like Birgi, Reidane is basically two cards in one, and both sides have versatile "hatebear" qualities, such as making the opponent's lands enter tapped, making their spells cost more, or preventing damage. Even without the abilities, a 2/3 flier for three mana is still a solid deal, but you do get multiple abilities and the option to cast Reidane as the artifact Valkmira, Protector's Shield. Despite the Kaldheim Gods being a little more fragile than most other Gods in the game, they make up for that in versatility and being more well-rounded creatures.
Svyelun of Sea and Sky
Every time I see Svyelun, I always forget she's a God, but just like other Gods, she can become indestructible when you fulfill the correct criteria. In this case that means controlling at least two other Merfolk. Unlike other Gods, not only can she always attack, but she's also drawing you a card every time you do! That's a great deal, especially in addition to giving all your other Merfolk ward 1.
The Scarab God
There was no more obnoxious a creature than The Scarab God in Amonkhet Standard. When this guy hit the board, there was going to be a player that was in for a bad time. It was just so hard to remove since most removal translates to just returning it to the hand, so you really had to take advantage of the tempo gains that "bouncing it" would provide.
If a player was allowed to untap with The Scarab God and there were creatures in a graveyard (any graveyard), that player was almost certainly winning the game. Making even a single 4/4 was usually enough to seal up a game, especially if it was a good creature you were reanimating, like a Hostage Taker!
Thassa, God of the Sea
Both Thassas, Thassa, God of the Sea and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling, are extremely powerful Blue Gods, but I went with the OG God of the Sea because she just had a more iconic competitive presence. She was a staple in Mono-Blue Devotion and you could not play an event without seeing multiple copies of her. She also won the Pro Tour!
Valki, God of Lies
Valki is another one of my favorite Gods. I think as far as planeswalkers go, he's a super fun one, and the fact that you can "cheat" him into play with things like Bring to Light or cascade cards is just a blast. A nice upside is that you can cast Valki, God of Lies as a two-mana creature in the early game, then cast Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor later in the game when you have the mana, and there's no legendary issues with having them both on the battlefield at the same time.
Xenagos, God of Revels
Xenagos as a planeswalker was pretty cool, and I actually like him better than when he became a God, but the God does have one cool thing going for him: the fact that it provided a two-card combo for Tooth and Nail that wins the game on the spot with something like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. You would tutor up both of the creatures, put them into play, then Xenagos would give Emrakul haste and +15/+15, which is a pretty sizable buff and usually enough to kill the opponent in one hit. That's a pretty cool interaction and you can imagine why it rarely mattered if Xenagos ever had enough devotion to attack or not.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore
